28 November 2012
The Independent Education Union of Australia expresses its disappointment with the Australian Education Bill introduced into Parliament today.
While the commitment to a base recurrent grant per student is welcomed and the school improvement principles are laudable, the Bill lacks substance.
“The Bill brought before Parliament today doesn’t contain anything about how much money is actually available to deliver the expectations,” Federal Secretary Chris Watt said.
Significant additional funding, not just “no-dollar less” is essential in each non-government school to meet the Bill’s aspirational agenda.
Indeed, the IEU is supportive in principle of the Federal Government’s focus on continual improvement in school education, but we’re not convinced this Bill delivers on that agenda.
“Disappointingly, this Bill doesn’t assist schools planning for significant changes and learning arrangements for 2014 and beyond.”
“This is a grand opportunity not to be missed to ensure that non-government schools, especially low fee Catholic and Independent schools, have sufficient resources to meet the challenges ahead.”
Media Contact: Penny Bradley 0429 020 409 or pbradley@ieu.org.au